Recent News

Update 8/14: Our artists have managed to get a look at a Chevrolet SS and came up with the rendering you see here. It shows a front end inspired by a combination of the Caprice PPV, 2014 Impala, and 2013 Malibu; a vertical fender vent that flows into sculpted door skins ; and taillights similar to those on the Cruze.

What It Is: Chevrolet’s upcoming SS sedan, which will share its rear-wheel-drive Zeta platform with the new, police-only Caprice PPV. Basically a shorter, civilian version of the Caprice, the SS is being added to Chevy’s lineup as a prequel to a new version due in 2015 that will be built in the U.S. The SS also will serve as the brand’s 2013 NASCAR entry.

Platform: Like the G8 before it and several Holden products, the SS will sit on the short-wheelbase version of GM’s Zeta platform (the Caprice cop car uses a very long wheelbase). The new Chevy basically will be a Pontiac G8 underneath, and the roofline, doors, and glass match the defunct Pontiac as well, however, the SS will get bow-tie–specific styling at the front and rear.

The test car seen in these photos is wearing heavy camouflage at each end, but we can see some potential differences between it and the Caprice and G8 through the cladding. Up front, the SS looks as if it will get more cooling ducts and intakes than the cop car. And are those cutouts in the hood’s camo we see? We’ve got our fingers crossed that those are covering up Pontiac GT GXP–like hood vents to help a big V-8 breathe. The rear end also appears closer in execution to the departed G8 than to the Caprice, with a trunklid-mounted license plate and an aggressive diffuser-style rear-bumper element defined through the garbage-bag sheathing. The SS is supposed to get a lightweight treatment compared to the G8, just like the Holden VF Commodore it will be built alongside.

Powertrain: Even though Chevrolet has yet to confirm which V-8 engine is headed the SS’s way, we expect it will launch with the 6.2-liter V-8 from the Camaro. The SS’s big eight-cylinder will make more power than the PPV’s 6.0-liter V-8; expect something in the neighborhood of 415 hp. We’re told a 3.6-liter V-6 will enter into the powertrain mix somewhere down the road. If you needed any more reason to be excited about this car, a 415-hp Pontiac G8 GXP we tested way back in 2009 reached 60 mph in 4.7 seconds. Here’s to hoping that car’s six-speed manual makes it into the Chevy version.

Competition: Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, a used Pontiac G8.

Estimated Arrival Time and Pricing: The NASCAR version of the new SS is due to be revealed later this summer, but the production car won’t make it into showrooms until next year.